Officials working for the state of California on Wednesday said that they are going to block the transportation of oil from the new offshore rigs that have been proposed by the federal government. This is a move aimed at expanding the drilling capacity of the US by the Trump administration on the territorial waters owned by the US federal government. One of the most forceful steps by the states found in the west coast including Oregon is to deny the federal government permits to pass oil pipelines for transporting petroleum from the new leases that have been acquired of the coast of the Pacific.

The trump administration has taken on the most ambitious gas and oil exploration projects that have ever been attempted in decades. Officials from the states of Washington, Delaware, South Carolina and North Carolina have issued a warning that the exploration of oil and gas may lead to the pollution of beaches, harm wild plants and animals and hurt the lucrative industry of American tourism. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the state and who serves as the current Lieutenant governor and the chair of the lands commission in California, Gavin Newson said that he is convinced that not a drop of the proposed oil by the administration will pass through California. On Wednesday, the commission sent a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of the US Interior Department urging Kelly Hammerle, the program manager of the Bureau to withdraw the draft proposal.

In the letter, the commission said that the public did not possess an adequate opportunity to give their input on the proposed plan. The commission added that the state of California would not allow the new proposed pipelines or the already existing one transport oil on behalf of the federal government from the off-shore oil rigs. In last year alone, President Donald Trump has clashed with California state authorities on a number of issues. California failed to agree with some policies such as immigration, vehicle efficiency standards and climate change which have been imposed by the Trump administration.

The announcement by the US Department of Interior to open up all off-shore waters for gas and oil exploration drew protests from the tourism industry, environmentalists and triggered demonstrations from Americans who reside in the coastal states. State governors from all the states with a coastal line except those from Maine and Alaska expressed their dissatisfaction with the move by the federal government. However, Alaska’s Governor made a request that sensitive areas should be removed from the planned exploration.